Motor vehicles are often provided with a pair of forward facing seating assemblies in the front row seat seating positions, each of which is typically provided with a lower seating structure and a seatback. Each of the pair of forward facing seating structures is typically mounted on either side of the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle and often separated by a center console. Such seating assemblies are also commonly provided with a reclining seatback on which a retractable shoulder belt of the seat belt assembly is mounted at the outboard corner thereof. Alternatively, the outboard corner of the seatback may be provided with a slidable attachment point for a shoulder belt of the seatbelt assembly mounted elsewhere in the occupant compartment of the motor vehicle proximate the seating assembly. In either case, during a frontal impact event, the outboard corner of the reclining seatback may experience significant loading and torque as the occupant of the motor vehicle is urged forward against the shoulder belt.
Such loading can result in deformation of the seating assembly frame to such an extent that the seatback of the seating assembly frame of each of the side-by-side forward facing seating assemblies may potentially no longer remain in the same plane and become displaced laterally toward or away from one another, such that one or both of the seatbacks of the forward facing seating assemblies is out of the design position. Further, the lower portions of the inboard side and outboard side of the seatback of the seating assembly frame may experience deformation resulting in undesired lateral separation of the inboard side relative the outboard side of the seatback of the seating assembly frame. This can lead to unpredictable loading and performance of the seating assembly and perhaps erratic head, thorax, and femur loads experienced by the motor vehicle occupant during the impact event. Thus, a seating assembly frame less likely to suffer such deformation is desired.